August Garden Hints

Now is a great time to install an irrigation system. If your lawn watering is proving to be a hassle, think about an automatic system. Installed now, you'll be able to benefit from the system as you work on improving your lawn this fall. After all, proper watering is the key to a successful lawn installation or renovation.

Prime lawn establishment season begins August 15th! This is the best time out of the entire year to work on establishing, thickening, or renovating your lawn. Come by Snow's today and pick up your supplies!

Test your soil now to find out what your pH level is. This is valuable information for helping to give your lawn the best possible growing conditions. Your goal is to get the pH between 6.5 and 7.0.

Fall garden mums will be available for the second half of the month. Planted in the right location, these perennials can provide years of enjoyment.

Continue removing spent flowers from your summer flowering shrubs like crape myrtles, roses, and butterfly bush. Deadheading will help to improve the appearance of the plant as well as improve additional flowering.

Watch your shrubs and dogwood trees for powdery mildew. This fungus that grows on the leaves can rob the root system of energy it needs to develop going into the winter. This can result in significant root damage. Treat with fungicides.

Renovate your iris beds now. If your irises are becoming too crowded or you've had problems with disease or borers, August is the time to dig up the plants. You can divide the rhisomes, clean out the dead or damaged ones, re-arrange the color scheme, and add amendments to the soil in the bed. Re-plant the irises right away and cut the foliage back by two-thirds. your plants will bloom better and be healthier. Well-tended irises will be a joy for decades. (An added bonus--divisions to plant elsewhere or share with friends!)

This is the time to start working on your Fall planting plans. Fall is a great time to do landscaping. Start planning early for best availability of plant material. Come see the great selection of beautiful, fresh stock in the nursery!

You can start a Fall vegetable garden now! Just when you thought your garden was played out for the season, you can rotate in a whole new crop of cool-season vegetables. Spinach, lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, collards, kale, and peas all do very well planted in August and allowed to mature through the Fall. Broccoli and cauliflower seem to do better in the Fall than in the Spring!

Now is a great time to begin planning for your Fall bulb planting. Bulbs won't be available for about another month, but this a great time to start your planning. Mark where your perennials and other plants are now while they're still growing. Plan on large sweeps of bulbs for best impact.